Thinning attachment for hair clippers



'30, 1962 E. w. CLARK 3,060,573

E" INVEN'IFUR" d g M4 iinited States Patent Gfitice 3,060,573 Patented Oct. 30, 1962 3,060,573 THINNING ATTACHMENT FOR HAIR CLEPPERS Earl W. Clark, Box 943, Stuart, Fla. Filed Feb. 14, 19 1, Ser. No. 89,312 2 Claims. (01. 30-201) This invention relates to improvements in attachments for electric hair clippers, and, more specifically and primarily to a combination of parts which permits or insures that only a portion of the hairs in front of and over the width of the clipper blades will be cut, and in addition that also sharply limits, by the adjustment or location of my attachment on the clipper, the amount of hair that may be cut at any given stroke of the clipper, and in part also it relates to anattachment member which aids in bringing. the long hairs of the head into contact with the clipper cutting edges,

The primary object of my invention is to provide an attachment for hair clippers that will enable one to obtain with an electric clipper a thinning and tapering of long hairs on the sides and back of the head.

An additional object is to provide means for causing long hairs that lie close to the head to move and bend upwardly into the cutting edges.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of my combined hair bending and thinning attachment assembled on a conventional hair clipper and it also shows a combmember and comb member support, described in patents numbered 2,916,820 and 2,974,412, which are intended to be used with the herein described attachments.

FIG. 2 is substantially the same as FIG. 1, excepting that my attachments are shown made in two pieces instead of one piece.

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of the combined hair bending and thinning attachment shown in FIG. 1

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the hair bending portion of my attachment when made independently of the thinning portion.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is an endelevationofFIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a comb member used in connection with my attachments.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a support for the comb member shown in FIG. 7.

The attachments described herein are intended to be used primarily when cutting, thinning and tapering the comparatively long hairs on the sides and back of the head, and these attachments are also designed to be used in combination with the comb member and comb member support described herein.

The cutting blade end of the electric clipper is shown in assembly views FIGS. 1 and 2, and number 1 designates the clipper housing, 2 is the stationary blade, 3 is the vibrating blade, and 4 indicates two screws which hold the stationary blade to the housing 1. The member indicated by 5 forms a support for all the various attachments and provides means for clamping all these attachments firmly to the clipper by means of screw 8 and knurled nut 9. The comb member 7 is supported on the clipper by comb member support 6. The combined hair bending and thinning attachment is indicated by 10. The separate hair bending attachment is indicated by 12 and the separate hair thinning attachment is indicated by 11. The comb 7 is attached to comb support 6 by means of screw 13.

When cutting hair with my attachments the adjustable comb 7 does an excellent job of tapering the hair on the sides and back of the head and also in shortening the lower end of the long hair which lie near the top of the head.

However, since the clipper cuts the long hairs at a uniform length, this leaves an abrupt and noticable change or ridge in the hair where the hair changes from comparatively short to long hair. The primary object of my invention is to thin, taper and blend the lower ends of these long hairs so that the above mentioned abrupt change in hair length is made less noticable. The above long-hair tapering and blending is ordinarily done by a barber using a comb and scissors. However, I have discovered that this blending can be done with a conventional hair clipper by using my hair thinning and blending attachments described herein.

Perhaps the best way in which to describe my hair thinning and hair blending attachments 10 and 11, which are both made from identically sheared and punched pieces, is to describe the manner in which they are made. They are made from thin aluminum about .019 inch thick and the punched and sheared pieces are about 1% inches wide by about 3% inches long. A single centrally located located slot 10a is punched in the rear portions of 10 and 11 and a series of spaced-apart and parallel slots 10c about inch wide and inch long is punched in the forward portion of 10 and 11 and the forward ends of these slots end about /a inch back of the forward ends of 10 and 11. The slotted forward portion of 10 and 11 is then bent into a hook-shaped form so that the slots 10c and the slot separating and bounding bar 10d partially encircle the clipper cutting teeth when 10 and 11 are in place on the clipper. It is thus evident that 10 and 11 when in place will partially obstruct hair from entering the clipper cutting edges. Slot 102: permits longitudinal adjustment of blending attachments 1i) and 1-1 and also "facilitates the placing on and removal of 10 and 11 from the clipper. Members 10 and 11 are identically the same excepting that 11 does not have the pushing and hair bending portion 19b.

When thinning and blending the lower portions of the long hairs mentioned previously, one must be careful to out only a limited amount of hair at a given stroke of the clipper otherwise the blending will not be properly done. The blending attachments 10 and 11' and also the hair pushing and bending member 12 are useful here in permitting and allowing the clipper operator to cutonly a limited amount of hair when he so desires. However, blending attachments 10 or 11 should never be allowea to contact the scalp directly so as to press the hair up against the head as then far too much hair may be cut and noticable thin spots will be produced in the hair.

To prevent blender 11, which is the preferred form of blender, from contacting the scalp one should use with this blender 11 either the combination of comb 7 and hair pushing and bending member '12 as shown in FIG. 2 or one may use the combination of member 11 and member 12. Member 7 or member 12 will keep blender 11 away from the scalp and member 12. will push and bend outwardly a limited amount of hair and cause it to en ter the cutting edges thus giving a limited cut of the hair.

When blending the lower ends of the long hairs I find that one should tilt the back end of the clipper upwardly about 45 degrees further than one ordinarily does when cutting hair on the sides of the neck and head. And, furthermore, one should bring the clipper cutting edges in toward the scalp about /2 inch above the lower ends of the long hairs and then move the clipper in along the scalp-generally for a distance of about /2 inch-when ordinarily all cutting ceases for that particular stroke of the clipper, due primarily to the cut and un-out hair piling up in front of the blender 11 and blocking the entry of additional hairs into the slots in the forward portion of the blender 11.

Since the clipper is preferably brought into contact with the long hairs not at their ends but above same, as noted above, the hair pushing and bending portion 12b of member 12 will not ordinarily contact the long hairs at their lower ends but rather at some point along their length and the contacted hair will be pushed upwardly and bent outwardly into the cutting edges of the clipper by means of the frictional contact primarily between portion 12b and the hair. Thus a limited cutting of the hair is obtained.

More hair will ordinarily be cut when portion 12b is used without comb 7 as then the contact pressure between the hair and 12b may be greater.

One may also use the hair pushing member 12 alone with the clipper and without member 11 or comb 7. However, one should use this combination ordinarily only where the hair is very thick or heavy.

The hair pushing portion b of member 10 does not push up and bend outwardly the contacted hair very well as the hair contacting surface is smooth and rounded and it has a tendency to ride up over the hair instead of pushing and bending the hair into the cutting edges.

The slot 12a of member 12 permits member 12 to be adjusted backward and forward and this adjustment permits one to vary somewhat the amount of hair which is bent into the cutting edges by portion 12b. If portion 12b is too close to the cutting edges none of the pushed hairs will bend into the cutters.

What I claim is:

1. The combination with a conventional hair clipper of attachments for same wherein the object is to permit and enable the operator of said clipper to cut only a very limited amount of hair at a given stroke of the clipper, the combination of, a hair thinning and blending member comprising a backwardly extending portion adapted to be clamped to and on the stationary blade side of said clipper and a forwardly extending portion having therein a series of spaced-apart slots extending in a forward and backward direction, the clipper cutting teeth being considered the front, and a series of members located between and forming boundaries for said slots and the said forward portion containing said slots and said bounding members being bent into a hook-shaped form such that when said thinning and blending member is in place on said clipper the said slots and the said slot bounding members partially encircle the cutting teeth of said clipper, a hair contacting and hair pushing member adjustably mounted on the stationary blade side of said clipper and said member having a hair pushing portion thereon adapted to contact and push a part of said contacted hair into the cutting edges of said clipper as said clipper is moved along the scalp said hair pushing member being adjustable independently of said blender and said hair pushing portion being located when cutting hair with said clipper and said attachments between the said blender and the said scalp.

2. The combination with a conventional hair clipper of attachments for same wherein the object is to enable and permit the operator of said clipper to cut only a limited amount of hair at a given stroke of the clipper, the combination of, a hair thinning and blending attachment comprising a backwardly extending portion adapted to be clamped to and on the stationary blade side of said clipper and a forwardly extending portion having therein a series of spaced-apart slots extending in a forward and backward direction, the clipper cutting teeth being considered the front, and a series of members located between and forming boundaries for said slots and the said forward portion containing said slots and said bounding members being bent into a hook-shaped form such that when said thinning and blending attachment is in place on said clipper the said slots and the said slot bounding members partially encircle the cutting teeth of said clipper, a comb member comprising a rearwardly extending portion and a forwardly extending portion said rearwardly extending portion being adapted to be clamped to and on the stationary blade side of said clipper and said forwardly extending portion comprising a comb having a plurality of comb teeth extending, when said comb member is in place on said clipper, in a forward and backward direction and said comb member being located, when cutting hair with said clipper and said attachments, between the said hair thinning and blending attachment and the scalp of the head, a hair pushing and hair bending member located between the said blending attachment and the said comb member and said hair pushing and hair bending member having a hair contacting said hair pushing and bending portion which is located, when cutting hair with said clipper and said attachments, between the said blending attachment and said comb.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 685,707 Archer Oct. 29, 1901 1,214,430 Cook Jan. 30, 1917 1,908,385 Wahl May 9, 1933 2,789,348 Clark Apr. 23, 1957 2,916,820 Clark Dec. 15, 1959 2,974,412 Clark Mar. 14, 1961 FOREIGN PATENTS 11,170 Great Britain of 1889 215,897 Germany Nov. 6, 1909 

